


distraction

by imposterhuman



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Thirsty Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:53:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26760925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imposterhuman/pseuds/imposterhuman
Summary: Tony was having a hard time focusing. He was supposed to be working on his gauntlets-- there was a problem with the repulsor wiring that required a lot of concentration and finicky work to fix-- but apparently, the universe was not on his side. He was going to have to go into battle with only one working repulsor at this rate.The source of his distraction, of course, was Rhodey. Who else would it have been?
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Comments: 7
Kudos: 121





	distraction

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy!!

Tony was having a hard time focusing. He was  _ supposed  _ to be working on his gauntlets-- there was a problem with the repulsor wiring that required a lot of concentration and finicky work to fix-- but apparently, the universe was not on his side. He was going to have to go into battle with only one working repulsor at this rate.

The source of his distraction, of course, was Rhodey. Who else would it have been?

Rhodey was sitting at his own lab bench working on the War Machine suit. That in itself wasn’t too bad; Tony had long since gotten used to working on his projects with Rhodey doing his own thing somewhere off to the side. If that could drive Tony to distraction, he would’ve flunked out of MIT.

No, that wasn’t the problem. The  _ problem _ was that Rhodey was wearing Tony’s MIT hoodie, the one that he’d specifically bought four sizes too large so that he could have enough fabric to drown in. It was his second favorite, behind the one he’d stolen from Rhodey decades ago. 

And if wearing Tony’s clothes wasn’t enough, Rhodey kept  _ rolling up his sleeves _ . Sure, it was technically a safety hazard to leave them flopping over his hands while he worked with delicate machinery, but it was a safety hazard for  _ Tony  _ to roll them up like that. Especially because the sleeves kept falling back down, forcing Rhodey to push them back up over and over again.

Tony was pretty sure he was going to die. 

As a general rule, forearms were not allowed to be hot. But stupid Rhodey had to be so stupidly attractive that every part of him was distracting, and Tony was not happy about that one bit. He was an adult, for god's sakes! 

Over at his bench, Rhodey rolled up his sleeves again and Tony promptly lost his mind.

“Please stop rolling your shirt sleeves up,” he called, staring determinedly down at his own work. He wasn’t sure he could add two plus two at that moment, much less comprehend the intricate wiring. “It’s terribly distracting. Do you  _ want  _ me to mess up this gauntlet?”

Rhodey raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like a you problem,” he said dryly. “It’s not my fault you have the attention span of a goldfish.”

“It’s your fault when you’re the one distracting me,” Tony countered, pointing at Rhodey with a screwdriver for emphasis. “You’re the guilty party.”

“I don’t know,” Rhodey tapped his chin with a finger, mirth sparkling in his eyes. “I remember when  _ someone  _ had a crop top phase and I worked through my distraction just fine. You’re clearly the issue here.”

Tony spluttered for a solid minute, because technically Rhodey had a point. “That sweater isn’t lab safe,” he said finally. 

“Would you rather I take it off?” Rhodey asked sweetly, which was definitely a trap. Tony was pretty sure Rhodey was wearing short sleeves under his hoodie, which was even  _ more  _ of a safety hazard. For both of them, really.

Tony’s face was bright red. “I hate you,” he said matter-of-factly. “No, really, I do.”

“Then I guess I’ll just leave,” Rhodey put down the suit piece he’d been working on. “I’ll go watch a movie upstairs so you can get your work done without distractions.”

“That’s a terrible solution,” Tony put down his own work to better flail his hands dramatically. “I propose you come over here and give me kisses instead to make up for distracting me. It’s your fine! Maybe it’ll teach you to dress appropriately for the lab.”

Rhodey barked out a laugh, but he came over to Tony’s bench anyway. “Yes, kisses are the best form of negative reinforcement,” he said dryly. “This will teach me.”

“You don’t know until you try,” Tony said cheerily, tilting his face up to meet Rhodey’s.

(The next day, Rhodey stole one of Tony’s tank tops and Tony almost died on the spot. Suffice to say, he didn’t get much lab work done.)

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos make me happy :))
> 
> come talk to me on tumblr [@imposter-human](https://imposter-human.tumblr.com/)


End file.
